


lifetime

by lupa_lupena



Category: The Umbrella Academy (Comics), The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst, Ben dies obviously, Child Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Gen, How do you tag even, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, There's some fluff in there anyway, With A Heavy Side-DIsh Of Feels, all the abuse, but y'all already knew that, i love this boy, like if you squint - Freeform, poor babies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:14:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26545819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lupa_lupena/pseuds/lupa_lupena
Summary: He finds it ridiculous, really, how other people have photo albums chock-full of themselves doing all sorts of things at different points of their life.Ben's life wouldn't even fill up a page, let alone an entire book.Or, alternatively; Ben Hargreeves from three months and ten days old to almost eighteen.
Relationships: Ben Hargreeves & Five Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves & Reginald Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves & The Entire Family, Ben Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves
Comments: 2
Kudos: 30





	lifetime

**Author's Note:**

> This particular plot bunny wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it down, and I've got a ton of school work to do, so yep: this happened. 
> 
> I know: I'm not happy about Ben suffering so much either, but he's just such a nice character to write that I just had to.
> 
> Feel free to leave your comments, notes, violent reactions, and whatnot down below!!! And kudos are definitely appreciated. Love y'all.
> 
> (Cross-posted on my tumblr, https://phoenixes-and-wizards.tumblr.com/. )

At three months and ten days old, Hongki Min is whisked away by a man with a monocle.

At three months and twenty-three days old, Hongki becomes Number Six.

At two years old, Number Six has a massive tummy ache the entire day. He can't quite explain why, but he cries and cries until he can't take it no longer and pulls up his shirt. The first tentacle bursts forth, and Number Six cries harder because he's just like the monsters in his storybooks now, and his siblings will be scared of him for sure.

When he goes to the man with a monocle-- _Dad_ , they all call him--for comfort and maybe an explanation, the man simply drags him into a room Number Six has never seen before, yanks off his shirt, and lets the monsters loose. And when Number Six asks him to stop, Dad smacks him across the face so hard that he loses all hearing in his left ear for the next few days.

This is just the beginning.

At four years old, Grace comes into their lives and asks him oh-so-sweetly if he'd like a name. _Any name_ , she says. Number Six says he doesn't know that many, so she chooses for him instead. At four years old, Number Six becomes Benjamin Hargreeves. Three days later, he starts going by “Ben” instead because Two--no, _Diego_ still has trouble pronouncing words sometimes, which often results in a slap from Dad, and Ben really hates it when Diego cries.

At six years old, Ben falls off a balance beam because he is afraid of being so high off the ground. As a punishment, Dad makes him walk the course, over and over again, until Ben falls to his knees and begs for _no more, please, I can't do it anymore._

_You are too soft, Number Six_ , their father tells him. _This is why you are at the end of my list_ , and leaves him there until Vanya and Grace find him, half-lying in a puddle of his own vomit.

At eight years old, Ben finds a sick kitten in the dumpster behind the mansion. When Reginald catches him nursing it back to health, he orders Ben to snap its neck. And when Ben finds that he can't, their father does it for him.

_Weakness is not an option in my household, Number Six. Either rid yourself of it or get out_ , he says and leaves Ben to cry over the cat's corpse.

(Five helps him bury it and they sneak out for a donut at Griddy's afterwards. The nice waitress takes one look at Ben's swollen eyes and insists on giving him a chocolate eclair, free of charge.)

At ten years old, Ben falls in love with books. Their father insists that he only read the classics. _Books of value_ , as he calls them. But Ben manages to sneak a handful of **_MARVEL_** comics into his cart anyways. He devours everything in three sittings, falls head over heels for Illyana Rasputin, and goes back for more.

At twelve years old, their father invites a tattoo artist to their home. Ben stares at the staircase the entire time, where he knows their sister is waiting, forever hovering on the sidelines. He goes to Klaus' room after, and even though he says nothing, Klaus helps him put cream and ice on his wrist. It's one of the few living memories he has of his brother where he isn't totally wasted: Klaus shushing him as he sniffles and telling him _hey, the bruises are starting to fade, look, you'll be alright, hush now._

(They sneak out to Griddy's for comfort food, but this time, Allison and Luther and the others come as well. They're a bit awkward around each other at first, but when the waitress plays a song that starts with " _Children, behave..._ " Allison exclaims " _Hey, I love this one!_ " and yanks Vanya and Diego to their feet, twirling them around despite the other customers' stares. The waitress smiles at them and gives them another round of donuts, on the house.)

At twelve, they save a bank full of hostages, and for the first time, Ben doesn't think of himself as a monster ... until the next day, when he sees the magazines calling him "The Horror." Ben sticks to the back for press conferences and interviews after that.

At thirteen, Ben loses his best friend. He stays up, night after night, just waiting for Five. But Five never makes it home.

At fifteen, Ben overhears their father calling his sister 'average' while she practices her violin. And Ben can't deal with the heartbroken look on her face, so he takes to reading wherever she's rehearsing, just so she'll have an audience. She's shy at first, playing only for an hour or so before announcing that she's done for the day, but soon enough, she's asking him if he wants to "hang out" and Ben will grab another book off his nightstand with a smile. It's the few moments in his life where he truly feels peaceful, and he holds onto them years later while he bleeds out in an alley.

Ben Hargreeves never makes it to eighteen.


End file.
